Hot but not uninhabitable

My first ever realistic encounter with Hyderabad was nothi

ng short of amusement. Having arrived in May, I was warned that it'd be very hot and people easily succumb to sun stroke. However when you see a huge crowd gathered at the market in any of the old areas, you begin to wonder "It's hot but not uninhabitable". Every other street, you'd find a sugar cane juice vendor serving you at Rs.7 a glass. It keeps you well energized.

The best experience of travels within the city would be through the buses. Getting up early in the morning to head to the old city is a good idea. At the Mecca Masjid, you see a lot of people feeding pigeons and children playing around. One morning, when I arrived at Golconda to have a quick look of this wonderful fort built by Kakatiyas and the Qutb Shahis, I began noticing a lot of tourists climbing up the fort in the peak of the afternoon. It was around 44 degrees. A lot of tourists comprised old men and women who climb up to get a glimpse of the city. Its interesting to see the varied ways in which people connect to history.

BDA: Contractors and Fencing

Vidyaranyapura, an area north of Bangalore is a place close to Yelahanka. Its connected to the University Of Agricultural Sciences (UAS). When we moved here, there was nothing except trees and a small police station close by. I wouldn't wanna continue the age old ranting of middle class views of the environment and sustainability, but nevertheless I'm quite shocked to receive the news that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) plans to cut down trees in front of our house. The site is 8-10 ft wide and no one can possibly build houses on it. The BDA wants to fence the site and declare it as a 'civic amenity' when its already one without fencing or trees cut.

Its part of a scheme in which the contractors and fabricators working for the BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike) make money from the taxes of the public and the BBMP shows it off as an illusive 'development'.

New UN Member State: Palestine ?

This September, Palestine is set to apply for UN Membership. Its still not fixed, but 90% they will given that Israel continues to build settlements on occupied territories and peace talks have reached no-where.

If they don't President Abbas would be thrown out of his post through mass uprising given the amount of support the Palestinian people have given, to the UN vote and Abbas would probably lose world support. The world view would be "If the Palestinians don't really care about their own future, why would we?

The U.S however is pressuring the Palestinian Authority by threatening a veto and cutting funds to the U.N. These however are baseless threats and neither Israel nor the U.S can do anything to curb peaceful legitimate resistance.

As seen in the case of the Gaza flotilla. Israel is no doubt turning into an international pariah by making pathetic baseless arguments against an International convoy of ships trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

So much focus on Palestine this time, Israel is unable to divert attention on Iran as usual

My dream, ever since I joined film-making has been to shoot a film in Palestine for my final year diploma. A Palestinian state getting a majority in the general assembly would be a wonderful birthday gift and hope this far-out cut off dream would come true next year.